Search warrants via BlackBerry?

[kpete]

FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE

Search warrants via BlackBerry?
Marcia Coyle/Staff reporter
April 26, 2006

Washington—A search warrant sent via e-mail to a computer in a police vehicle or maybe to a hand-held device such as a BlackBerry? All become possible under a federal rule scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1.

This brave new world of electronic search warrants and affidavits comes courtesy of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 41(d)(3)(A), which simply states: "A magistrate judge may issue a warrant based on information communicated by telephone or other reliable electronic means."

The key words are "other reliable electronic means."

"E-mail could be a reliable electronic means," said Professor Sara Sun Beale of Duke University Law School and reporter to the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Rules of Criminal Procedure.

"The committee decided not to try to list all reliable electronic means but leave it to evolving standards or a case-by-case standard as judges hear enough about a particular system," she said. "Freezing something in the rule-for example, faxes are OK but nothing else is-didn't seem to leave enough flexibility. The technology is changing so quickly."

The U.S. Supreme Court recently sent the proposed change to Rule 41 and other rules to Congress. If the lawmakers do nothing, they become effective on Dec. 1.

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1146051863264

[icymist]

1. Is 'E-Search warrants' as reliable as touch screen voting machines?

Considering that Dimson conducts electric surveillance without warrants, could the 'E-warrants' provide court orders in cyber space? In other words, an abstract search warrant?